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View Poll Results: What best describes your feelings on Raizel using his power.

Noblesse Chapter 260 Review

Sorry for the late review but I was reading Cold Days by Jim Butcher and I simply could not stop until I had finished it Sleep, food, and other responsibilities be damned!

The poll last week was on how long this fight would last. The majority guessed it would end at 261 and it looks like they were right.. but only by a hair. And, yes, the fact that I picked 260 may have a little to do with that part.

Now onto the review!

Chapter SummaryMan, I bet insurance premiums for skyscrapers in South Korea are getting pretty crazy these days....

This week resumed with Frankenstien's Dark Spear in the process of devouring the 11th Elder as everyone looks on varying degrees of horror. Faced with certain death the 11th agrees to tell Franky everything he knows as long as he stops the spear. The 10th Elder doesn't like this too much and fires one of his beam attacks at his comrade to shut him up.

When the explosion clears only Frankenstein remains and he pretends it was the 10th elder's attack took out the 11th and does one of his classic "What a terrible thing you've done." monologues; as his Dark Spear looks suspiciously well fed in the background.

This display leaves the 10th facing the reality that he can't beat both Seira and Frankenstien. Seira, understanding his thoughts, assures him that his opponent will be her and her alone.

The fight between them resumes and the 10th holds his own at first...right up until Seira actually starts "trying". When she unleashes the full force of her soul weapon on him it becomes apparent that she was just toying with to gain some battle experience. The 10th resilience is no match for her power and he is badly injured.

Realized his defeat the 10th Elder give a "You'll pay for this!" villainous shpeel threatening both the Lukedonia and Korea. Franky just kinda laughs though and explains that he knows the Union always intended to go after the Nobles and South Korea; so all that is nothing new.

Seeing that he can't talk his way out. The 10th tries to flee to somewhere he can find hostages. It might have worked too, but Raizel intervenes. Seeing through the Elder's plan, he traps him in a blood field and slams him to his knees with the words "You do not have the right to look down on me"

Chapter ReviewRaizel doesn't do "Scary" often but when he does...he does it right.

Substance

The biggest thing this week was probably Raizel using his powers once more in defense of humans. As much as Frankenstien may wish otherwise, Raizel will never stop doing that. He just doesn't think that way and once more he showed it.

The news that a true war between Lukedonia and the Union is all but inevitable doesn't come as much of a surprise but the implications are pretty grand just the same. Especially since South Korea seems to be firmly stuck in the middle now.

The utter decimation of the 10th Elder at Seira's hands was also something that should be talked about. It's a hard not to be a little disappointed in how easily she dispatched him. The union really needs to up their game with the rest of it's people so these fights don't end up so one-sided at the end. Thinking back to how, previous nobles have been killed by humans. You just have to ask yourself "how". Did they slip on a banana peel mid-fight?

It's also interesting to me how careless Frankenstien was about letting the 11th Elder, a potential wellspring of information, get eaten. Granted Bonerre is standing on that same roof, probably soiling himself (and understandably so); but still, they need to find out where Tao and Takeo are. I wonder what his backup plan for that is?

Presentation

Lots of big gorgeous panels this week. I love it when epic fights aren't stingy with the background work and this chapter was certainly not that. Solid detail work and great lighting further added to the quality of this combat chapter.

Pacing was just about right. The combat was fast paced. The dialogue created pauses but it always felt natural and never forced.

Overall Rating

It was a solid combat chapter which benefited from some really good artwork. The only knock I have on it was the how effortless the conclusion of the 10th Elder's fight was. The inability of villains to stay competitive throughout fights is a longstanding problem for Noblesse, and this chapter was another example of that.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Predictions Section

New Prediction

The 10th Elder will die and the Bonerre will be "persuaded" to tell them where Tao and Takeo are.

Old Predictions:(19 Wins/ 22 Losses)

"Both the 10th Elder and the 11th Elder will be defeated by the end of next week's chapter(Chapter 260)" - Win (I guess)

I'm not sure what to do with this one. The 10th Elder did acknowledge he'd been defeated by Seira so I guess I have to call it a win but the argument could be made he still has too much life left in him for that. Hence, the Blood Field treatment.

Re: Noblesse Chapter 260 Review

I should probably tell you why I voted that "I'm not glad" for Rai to use his power:

Despite the thing that I'm happy to see Rai's personality not to waver (he is decisive, without "YES or maybe NO").

Rai always strikes/surprises me with his final decision, that is also almost always the correct one, becouse he does nothing without any meaning(he is like a joudge, who listens first, than says his opinion, which is almost always like "the final judgment" !!!).

BUT, the thing is, I know what to expect after Rai uses his power(*I know how he suffers*) and "this*" way, way counter balances the fact that "I would be glad to see him use his power". It actually saddens me much more.

PS: Otherwise I always love to see Rai use his power, why the quality of the art increases, by a lot...

Last edited by Monsterguy; November 28, 2012 at 03:16 PM.
Reason: spelling

Re: Noblesse Chapter 260 Review

I voted I'm glad, well obviously not because I want to see Rai spill blood from his mouth, but because I think that was the best option story wise. Firstly, because that makes him stay true to his character, not caring about consequences for him and simply using his power to protect the weaker, and only adds epicness to this incredible character. Secondly, because like Jammim said so far fights have always been to one-sided and that side is the "good" side (in any other series this would maybe be horrible but Noblesse managed to be interesting even with this) so it's good to introduce some conflict like this while there is no serious opponent. I also think Noblesse will end with Rai overusing his power and dying, it's not that I would like him to die at all but I think for the story it's good to have this kind of thing and it would be a good ending. And thirdly, it's always awesome to see Rai using his powers and an important fight wouldn't be what it is without that short moment, I won't lie .

Great chapter and review too, I also loved that panel right after the "Chapter Summary" title and the last one too. I'm quite interested in this power of Seira, I wonder if all Soul Weapons have such a thing or if it's specific for her.

The biggest part of this chapter was probably the way how Rai displayed his powers. Everyone of us were waiting for some "Kneel" moments and we finally got to see them. This was way cooler than what happened during Jake's fight.
Authors have proved again that they can make Raizel's fight epic everytime.

I am satisfied with 10th and Seira's battle. The outcome probably tell us that Seira have evolved (probably through training or she gained more battle expierence than we expected.)
I mean Lord and other Leaders would have made sure that she can evolve much faster and become worthy of being a clan leader.
Also she is one of the few characters who calmly analyze the situation, no matter how severe the calamity is.
(BTW Jammin, the nobles were defeated by traitors with the help of Humans. So its no wonder they died).

I'm sure she wont stand a chance with traitors or other Elders.
We can expect this arc to be the best so far (even better than Lukedonia arc) as there are various things happening all at the same time.
Crombell is probably gonna learn that both "F" and Frankenstein are same. Death of two Elders will force Roctis and other Elders to visit Korea, and without a doubt Lukedonia will send reinforcements.

The only thing I'm disappointed is that author doesnt focuses on villains. He probably wont explain us how 10th and 11th rised to the position of Elders OR how they gained so much strength (as I'm sure they havent made contracts).
If authors focuses on this aspect, then I'm sure Noblesse will become flawless.

Last edited by strixflash; November 29, 2012 at 01:29 AM.
Reason: Minor tweaks.

Re: Noblesse Chapter 260 Review

I voted for "No, I'm not glad" although I can see where it comes from. Rai can withstand anything but to see his beloved humans being used around and destroyed, even more right in front of his eyes. While it is sad for us to see his lifespan getting even shorter (but since it doesn't seem like a real genuine usual blood field, maybe the effect is not so destructive), this is actually the heartwarming element of the story: the compassion a vampire has for humans.

Too bad Frank's fight is over, or we'll get to see berserk-Frank Lvl 2 in the next chapter because of this.